September 2010 Rads

Hi! Dutchgirl6,

I had clean margins around malignant tumor, and will be having boosts.   I've never asked the reason for boosts.

Sorry that my post offended people which I learned through private messages.  I will not be posting any longer.  Good luck everyone!!

I had clear margins from my MX. I was told that my 5 boosts would be focused on my MX incision and I understood that is because it is hard to remove all the breast tissue there and that is where a recurrance would be more likely to occur. But it is very hard to remember everything I've been told. Even when I take notes I find that I often misplace them. Ooops!

Today will be #19 of 33 and my skin is feeling O.K. still. Glad to have two days off though!

Well I'm back in the same situation I was before.  After the last 4 txs (as it did after the first 4) my neck from ear to ear has reacted to the rads with burn/redness and the radiologist doesn't think I can continue.  He said if I'm doing this in a non radiated area after 4 txs he would not be doing me any favors by continuing.  I could end up in the hospital for months with a serious infection.  So Tuesday we will make a final decision on continuing rads.  The 8 (out of 33) will not even be beneficial to me as they are cumulative.  He still thinks that I have a chemical in my body that is making me sensitive to the radiation.  It's a case where the treatment is worse than the disease.  So if I have to discontinue the txs my chances of reoccurence to the breast area (LMX-TN) are 30% instead of the 10% radiation would have given me.  He did say that even with radiation txs there is no guarantee it will not come back to the chest wall. The radiation txs also will not prevent it from coming back to a distant organs.

I'm considering checking out on of the top ten cancer centers closest to me which would be the Abramson Cnacer Center in Philadelphia to get their opinion on what's going on with me. 

I don't know what happened with JanetfromPgh...I read all the posts, and I don't see anything offensive about any of them.  Maybe a few people were having a bad day - Lord knows, there are enough of them on this crappy trip.   All I can say is, I respect everyone's opinions on these threads, and also the fact that the ladies here are kind enough to share them with all of us.  There is no need to jump down someone's throat because we might disagree.  I hope JanetfromPgh will continue to join us.

bubbalu, my heart sank when I read your post.  It seemed as if things were going fine and I'd been so happy to see you progressing.  2nd opinions are always good.  Could this be something like a contact dermatitis?  Do you have very sensitive skin and this might be like an allergic reaction, or does it feel like a burn?  My skin reacts badly to some substances....if I try perfume, some, not all, I'll go around looking as if I've got hickies for several days.  Does it itch?  Could they put a lead shield over just that area, like the dentist does for teeth Xrays?  Just throwing stuff out here.  I know how very disappointed you must be.  If it turns out you just can't do it, look at it this way...you've already done so much to ensure that it won't come back.  You've had Chemo, you've done a mastectomy removing most if not all the tissue that it could have been left in anyway.  Do you think under the circumstances that your odds are really still so high, or isn't that more for those who have had lumpectomies.  Just thinking out loud here, but in any case, I am truly truly sorry this has happened again!

Hello Sisters!  Haven't posted for a while because it doesn't seem like much is happening.  I had my initial appt with rad oncologist delayed because my breast still felt very tender from surgery 4 weeks ago.  Last Tuesday I had the CT scan and three small tattoos put on.  They are really hard to see.  The tech told me that it would take at least a week (!) to do the mapping (?) so I go back on the 23rd for the simulation.  AND THEN (finally) I will start treatment.

Thanks for all the good information so far - sounds like most are handling radiation OK. 

NWShannon - hope your infection clears up quickly.

DMS - I am starting the aromatase inhibitors as soon as radiation is done.  My oncologist said that her training is in the East and that is how she was trained.  She thinks docs trained in the West are more likely to do AI concurrent with radiation.

Have a good weekend everyone.

I'm officially half way done with radiation 11 complete and 5 to go plus 5 boosts. The top half of my breast is pink and a little sore, but no blisters. I will finish on October 1, if all treatments are on schedule.

I have a Zometa infuision scheduled for next week. Hope it is easy.

I will see my onc on Oct 6 and will be given a prescription for Arimidex, assuming all my blood counts show I am post menapausal. I am 53 and chemo should have pushed me there. I was given a choice of ovarian supression drugs every month or checking my estrogen levels every three months. I picked the blood tests. I am hoping for no/few side effects from the Arimidex.  I was on tamoxifen for four years to prevent breast cancer (my mom had breast cancer and I thought I would be proactive). I didn't find it to be anything to complain about. But I still have hand and foot pain from the Taxol, so I am concerned about the Arimidex.

Hope everyone has a good weekend and has a little time to heal.

JanetfromPgh: Please stay, you an important part of this healing community, we care about you.  Whatever happened I hope you can find a way to rise above it and stay here where we can all weather these storms together.  We need you too.

You were the only person that ever mentioned 'recall reaction' to me in regards to my problems now from the book 'Just Get Me Thru This' - I immediately ordered the book.  That's my theory on this problem.  I've searched it online every which way I can and there's no informtion out there on it.  But I think it does exist with me!

Wishing you all the best..................

JSmiley60, congrats on your #7 rad.  About how often does your onc ask you to get a blood test?  So far I've only saw my med onc twice since my surgery and he's asked for 1 blood test.  I won't see him until December 1st.  Meanwhile I'll be getting a PET scan. 

Do they inject any dye for PET scans, can someone share their PET scan experience?
Thanks.. 

NkRun-You walked 40 miles last week? You are my hero.

Zivagirl- I know what you mean about feeling like a number at a highly reputable university. There's one near me and I went there for a second opinion (surgeon) and hated the feeling. You get good care but at a slight cost.

gin2ca- I am not taking high doses of vitamin D but I do take vitamins. My rad onc said I could take a multi vitamin, but I also take 800 vit D and calcium. They aren't antioxidents so I don't think it could hurt.

Janetfrompg- If you ruffled the feathers of a few people, oh well. We're all going through difficult stuff that we didn't choose and we can be a bit testy at times. Please don't let a few chase you away!!! You're part of our group and we need you. As Babbalu said, you gave her advice that could turn out to really make a difference for her. I hope to see you post something soon.

babbalu- Not again!!! I'm glad you're getting more opinions and hopefully someone will figure this out so you can continue with your treatments.

rcca- I didn't know they took a blood count to show you're menapausal. That's great news because I was worried I'd get the wrong drug when the time comes. I'm somewhere in between.

Questions- I have a soroma from the surgery which has been a little painful throughout and is getting more so with radiation. I wenet to the surgeon before radiation and the onc rad to make sure it was a good idea to start rads. They both thought it was. Since I've only had 8 treatments and am in pain now, I'm worried about the future. Does anyone else have this situation?

Also, I bought Rad-x cream for $25 and realized it's basically aloe vera and lidocaine. I want to buy 2% lidocaine and mix it with my lotions. Then I'm not stuck using one thing. Has anyone done this. Does this make sense to you??

Welcome Lorraine! I think it's great that you're going to MD Anderson-you'll get incredible care. I understand what you mean about being home. I guess we do what we have to. With lot of visits from friends the time will fly by. You'll probably meet people in Houston as well. At least you'll have us to talk to. Good luck with your treatment!

Hi all,  I'm Deborah, started rads last week after completing dose dense chemo, 4 x AC, 4 x Taxol.  Had lumpectomy and lymph node removal prior to chemo. 

 I have to admit that I'm feeling a bit desperate about this radiation thing.  Everything I read, and my oncologist said it would probably be a breeze after chemo.  However, I've had 2 treatments (6 more weeks to go) and I feel absolutely awful - almost like I just had chemo.  I managed to work all through chemo, apart from a couple of days off after each treatment (every two weeks), but the way I feel right now, knowing I have to do rads every day for 6 weeks - I just can't see myself being able to continue with work.  I can take short term disability, but am worried about how my boss will react to that (probably not too well).  Additionally, I feel very depressed and emotional, on the verge of tears all the time, something I didn't really have with chemo.  Did anyone else have this experience with radiation?  Most of what I read is ladies who didn't find radiation difficult at all, so I wonder why this is hitting me so hard.

 Thanks for any comments you might have.